Piper in Stars Hollow
by Lorimar Jayne
Summary: Rachel has passed away and left Luke with a big surprise, a daughter named Piper. Set after the Season 5 Finale.
1. Very Important News

**A/N: Read. (Helpful, huh?)**

Luke sat on the rather uncomfortable couch in his apartment and tried to figure out how this day had become such a big deal.

His alarm had woke him up at a ridiculously early hour. He had taken a shower, gotten dressed, and went downstairs to start working. Lorelai had stopped in a little while later for her caffeine fix and then Luke had worked serving customers like he did every day.

Everything was blissfully normal … until the lawyer arrived. He had short, brown hair that was combed neatly and was wearing a suit. He came straight to the counter, set the brief case he was carrying on the counter, and took a seat on one of the bar stools. Luke approached him with ordering pad in hand and asked the stranger if he was ready to order.

The man replied, "Yes, I would like a cup of coffee. But first I need to find a Lucas Danes. Is there any chance you know where I could find him?"

"Well, I'm Luke Danes, so I guess I can get you that coffee."

Luke went behind the counter, took the coffee pot, and started to fill the cup in front of the stranger while the man said, "Hello, I'm David Peterson and I have very important news you need to be informed of."

"Really."

"Yes, please sit down so we can discuss your options." He said this while gesturing to the seat next to him and Luke put the pot back on the coffee maker and sat.

"Well, it is my job to inform you," David began, "that your old girlfriend, Rachel, has passed away."

This is the moment at which Luke had froze. He wasn't in love with Rachel but she had always popped in and out of his life. Luke had always figured one day she would inevitably pop back in, maybe not at a lover's status, but she'd still be there.

"And she has left behind a daughter … your daughter … Piper."

The rest of the day was a blur. David talked at Luke for a while until Lorelai showed up. When Luke gave David permission to discuss everything with her, Lorelai saw the state Luke was in and took over. She arranged for David to come back tomorrow to give Luke time to think.

And so here he was, upstairs trying to grasp everything while Lorelai was downstairs helping Caesar close up.

This morning Luke had worked at his diner, the one he had inherited from his father, as he did every day. And he was engaged to a beautiful woman he has known and loved for eight years.

This morning everything had made sense. But now he was a father. He and Rachel had conceived a child, but she had never told him.

He was initially mad at her, but then he realized that she was dead and being mad at her was wrong, wouldn't make him feel better and couldn't help him make sense of anything.

Piper was fifteen years old. And Luke remembered all the times he had seen Rachel in the last fifteen years. They weren't terribly often, but he couldn't help wonder how she hadn't told him when they were together.

Piper. The name was definitely chosen by Rachel. It was strange, but beautiful and definitely sounded like Rachel's style.

Luke's thought's were interrupted when Lorelai entered the apartment smiling. She was carrying dinner for both of them: a salad for Luke and a burger for her. The fact Lorelai figured that he hadn't eaten made Luke smile.

"Hey, how are you doing?"

She set everything on the table and he sat opposite her and started to eat his salad.

"Fine, I guess."

"Well, let's just remember that this is probably ten times worse for Piper. Her mom, the only family she knows, has just died and now she is going to live with the father she has never met."

"Does she know that I never knew about her and that if I had I would of definitely been involved in her life."

"I'm not sure, honey. Listen, David called and said that he could bring her over tomorrow. Only if you want her to."

"I'm not sure. I mean we both agreed that we have to take her in. She's my daughter and I can't just leave her alone. Rachel doesn't have any other family members. But I'm not sure. Do you think tomorrow is too soon?"

Lorelai thought for a minute and then said, "How about we finish dinner, watch TV for a little while, and go to sleep early since I know you have an early delivery tomorrow. We'll call David in the morning."

"We?"

"I've already called out of work for tomorrow, so there's no use in arguing."

"Is there ever?"

"Nope." They both smiled and Luke tried to relax for the rest of the night.

**A/N: Good idea? Reviews, please!**


	2. Girl Power Bonding Thing

**QueenCate: **I actually did get the named from Charmed, I'm completely addicted to that show and have always loved Piper's name, it's so different. But to answer your question, Piper Danes is not Piper Halliwell.

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**A/N: More. (I know, amazing what you learn in these notes)**

She walked into the diner with an air of confidence and the first thing Luke noticed was her eyes. The young girl had olive skin, her finger and toe nails were painted black, and she wore black sandals and a black, spaghetti strapped dress that stopped half way up her thighs. And her straight, jet black hair draped down to the bottom of her back. This collection of black made the girls bright green eyes stand out to an almost rediculous extent.

She walked straight up to him. "Hi, I'm Piper. And I'm in desperate need of some coffee, please!"

Luke was stunned. He couldn't seem to do anything but stare and pour the girl a cup of coffee, but as he was handing it to her he snapped out of it and quickly pulled the cup back. "You know that coffee is liquid death."

"Yes, I do. One cup brimming full of steaming, hot liquid death please."

Lorelai was coming down the stairs and heard the last of their conversation. She entered the diner and quickly went over to Luke. She caught him in a deep kiss and his hands went instinctively to her waist. Lorelai put one hand on his face and used the other to nudge the cup towards the girl, who nodded in appreciation.

Lorelai stopped the kiss just as abruptly as she had started and passed Luke to fill herself a cup of coffee. Luke saw that Piper was swallowing the last of her cup. "It's far too early for you two to do your … girl power … bonding … thing."

Luke's obvious uncomfort made both girls laugh. Once they had regained themselves Lorelai pouted and turned to Piper, "Luke doesn't like our no boys allowed, secret special clubhouse," she said in the highest girly voice she could muster. Piper turned to Luke and made a face like she was about to cry and Lorelai mimicked her. Once again both girls started to laugh.

"Ah geez." And with that Luke went to go serve some customers.

"That was fun! No one ever helps me bug Luke. I'm Lorelai, by the way; the fiance."

"Piper; the daughter."

"Wow! We thought you were coming with David and only if we called."

"Yeah, well. I figured since you two were engaged and were about to start your life together, you wouldn't be taking me."

"Oh…" Lorelai tried to interject, but Piper continued.

"And that's fine. I just wanted to meet you guys."

Luke came over, gave Caesar a new order, and turned his attention to Piper. "Listen, I'm already moved into Lorelai's house, but we're not sure where we're going to fit you in. I figure until we do you can stay in the apartment upstairs."

"Luke, can I talk to you for a sec." Lorelai grabbed Luke's hand and basically dragged him into the storage room. "Luke, Piper can have Rory's old room."

"Lorelai …"

"No. Luke, Rory's the one who dropped out of Yale and ran to my parents. She took all of her stuff from her room. Now, I really want to get her furniture out of there and put in some new stuff for Piper."

"Lorelai. Are you sure you're ready for this?"

"Yes. I didn't make Rory leave and there's apparently nothing I can do to make her come back. We will fix this, but it's too soon. Right now we have Piper to worry about."

"Okay. If you're sure."

"I am." She gave Luke a quick kiss and then walked out of the storage room with Luke following her closely. They told Piper there plans and called David to get down to Luke's as soon as he could. Lorelai sat down next to Piper while Luke called David. When he was done he turned to them and asked, "Hey, do you two want anything to eat?"

"Ooh, okay. Blueberry pancakes with whipped cream, a cherry danish, bacon, sausage, hash browns, ooh and more coffee … pleeeeeeeeeease!" Piper stared up at Luke with the biggest pleading eyes and largest pout he had ever seen. Luke stared at his fifteen year old daughter stunned.

Lorelai looked impressed and immediately chimed in, "Me, too! Me, too!" Lorelai pouted and looked up at Luke. He looked from Lorelai to Piper, from his fiance to his daughter, from the beautiful woman to the beautiful young lady sitting in front of him.

"I'm in trouble." And then he left to place their orders and both girls had huge smiles on their faces.

**A/N: Ganging up on Luke. Ooh. Review, please!**


	3. Mi Madre

**QueenCate** and **J.Stone : **Thanks for the input. Please continue to review.

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**A/N: Food. Hmmm.**

Both Lorelai and Piper had polished off the massive amounts of food they had ordered and sat there sipping their coffees.

David arrived and walked straight to Piper. Luke saw David enter and walked to stand directly behind Lorelai. David practically yelled, "What are you doing here. You can't just leave. The people in charge of watching you …"

"Obviously weren't doing that great a job," Piper interrupted.

Lorelai couldn't help but smile. She quickly stopped herself and told David, "We'd like to take her off your hands as soon as possible. The only problem is her room currently isn't ready."

David told her that, "Piper and her mother didn't have any furniture, so they can't contribute."

Lorelai immediately turned to Piper. "How could you two not have had any furniture?"

"Well, we never really stayed in one place for very long. I got to travel all around the world. Madre home schooled me."

"Madre?"

"Yeah. My first language is Spanish. We lived in different parts of Spain from when I was born until I was four. I learned English when I was five years old. The first way I learned to address her was as mi madre and it just stuck."

Lorelai gave her a smile and Luke turned to David. "So, I figure painting her room and putting the furniture and stuff into it will take about a week. She can stay in the apartment above this place until it's finished if that's okay."

"Well, you have some paperwork to fill out first, but then that seems like it will be fine."

"What about her schooling?"

"Actually I meant to tell you guys." Piper turned to Luke and Lorelai to completely exclude David.

"I was excepted to Chilton. It's a school in Hartford. It does cost a bit, but it will be totally covered by mi madre's education investments. There's enough in there to send me to Chilton and probably college, too. She left me everything and always made sure that I'd be taken care of. She really loved me."

"That's great!" Luke was so happy he attempted one of his traditional semi-awkward hug's and only realized half way through that it wasn't awkward at all. Then he realized that Lorelai may not have had such a positive reaction.

But the look on her face when he saw her made him forget his worries. She looked happy and also gave Piper a hug. They made the arrangements with David to deliver Piper's stuff that night so that she could get settled into the apartment.

Sookie entered the diner and Lorelai beckoned her over. "Sookie, this is Piper. Piper this is my best friend Sookie."

"Well, it's a real pleasure to meet you Piper." Sookie said in her usual giggly manner and then she quickly turned her attention to Lorelai. "You didn't tell me she was coming today! We have to have a welcome dinner."

"Sook, we didn't know she was coming."

"Okay, but I'm going to the market right now and getting food for dinner. I'm going to call Jackson and have him and the kids at the house by 4:30. Will you two be ready by then?"

"Yes, we will," Luke interjected. "4:30?"

"An early dinner. Well, good. I'll have a fabulous meal ready by then."

"Can I help?" Lorelai, Luke, and Sookie all looked to Piper. "What? Madre and I loved to cook almost as much as we loved food. And having gone around the world I have experimented with all types of food. Besides, if I stay here I'll get bored watching you two do paperwork."

"I hadn't thought of that. You should go … if you want. Although how anyone could want to intentionally cook a meal is beyond my limits of comprehension. I mean …"

"Go." Luke interrupted Lorelai's rant, "Have fun." They both watched the two leave and then turned their thoughts to the paperwork they wanted to get finished as soon as they could so that they could get home.

**A/N: She cooks! Review, pleeeeeeeeease.**


	4. Mom's and Cooking

**J.Stone, ****starshollow108, gilmoregrly4life**: Thank You soooooooooooo much! It means a lot.

**hollyfan4eva**: Thanks for the review. I didn't see Luke's daughter as a badass either. The look plays an important role. Both in why she has it (explained in this chapter) and how the kids at Chilton react to it (even though she is wearing a uniform) on her first day. Don't worry, it'll all make sense soon.

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**A/N: What's waiting for them at home? Oooooooooh.**

Luke and Lorelai were both walking home having just finished with the paper work and were now the legal guardians of Miss Piper Danes, as David had put it. Luke had his arm wrapped protectively around Lorelai's shoulders and she had her arm around his waist.

"I like her. I mean she likes to cook." Lorelai made a face of disbelief. "But she has a great personality."

"Yeah, but I can already tell you two are going to double-team me all the time."

They smiled at eachother and Lorelai added, "Ooh, you two can totally combine your cooking powers to make me amazing meals all the time!"

By this time they were entering their house and they were greeted by smells of pure deliciousness, as Lorelai had put it, and a banner that read _'Thanks Mom and Dad'_.

They were both still standing in the doorway stunned when Piper came to see what was taking so long. When she saw their reaction to her banner she shrugged. "Well, Sookie wouldn't let me help with dinner until she trusted me, so I had some time."

"Sookie is very particular about who she let's touch the food in her kitchen."

"Yeah, I learned that the hard way. I stirred the sauce."

Lorelai gasped, "Oh my god! You tried to stir one of Sookie's sauces! You never stir Sookie's sauces. You always stir too slow, too fast, too hard, not the right technique; no one can possibly know Sookie's stirring technique!"

"It's a really nice banner," Luke said quickly to stop Lorelai's oncoming rant about Sookie's sauces.

"Thanks."

"And I love your outfit." Lorelai added when she noticed Piper's form-fitting black leather pants, black corsette-style top, and dark eye make-up that made her eyes look even brighter.

"Yeah. The eye liner is actually from China. You can have some. When madre and I saw that it didn't expire we decided to stock up. I'll be wearing black for a while, though. I know it's been a few weeks since she died, but I'm still mourning and I can't bring myself to wear any other colors yet. I've always let my outfit's reflect my emotions."

"That's fine. Do whatever you need to," Luke told her.

"Yeah, listen …" Lorelai paused long enough to take Piper by the shoulders and lead her to the living room and Luke got the hint and went up to their bedroom to change. "You know you don't have to call me mom. I'm only your stepmother, I mean you had a mom …"

"No, I had a madre. The word madre holds all those special, birth mother, loving feelings for me. And you're right, no one can ever replace my madre. But the word mom is a blank slate for me. And I would really love it if you would be my mom and all the connotations I have with the word would come from you."

Lorelai felt ecstatic. Piper was practically insisting she call her mom. She was afraid that if she tried to talk she would start to cry, so she learned over and gave Piper the tightest hug she could give; one that Piper eagerly returned.

Sookie popped out of the kitchen. "What's taking you guys so long!" Sookie was oblivious, as usual, to the special moment she was interrupting, but Lorelai and Piper didn't mind. "Lorelai, this girl is amazing in the kitchen."

"What?" Lorelai looked at Piper confused.

Piper told her, "I said we got off to a rocky _start_; with the sauce and the trust building, but after that she let me help and …"

"She did great! Come on, Jackson and the kid's are ready. This meal is amazing!"

"You two go in and I'll get Luke." Lorelai went into their bedroom where she found Luke. She walked over to him and hugged him tightly.

"I'm somebody's dad."

"And I'm a mom again." They each pulled back from the hug with huge smiles on their faces and went downstairs to eat a truly amazing meal.

**A/N: Awwwww, they're cute. Review. Preferably now ;)**


	5. Charlie

**A/N: Who's Charlie? Read!**

That night Sookie and Jackson had left early to put the kids to bed and Lorelai and Piper had persuaded Luke to watch a Friends rerun marathon on TV.

At ten o'clock there was a knock at the door and Luke got up to answer it knowing that neither one of the girls were going to move while Rachel was in the middle of a fight with Ross.

When Luke opened the door David was standing on their porch with a large german shepard sitting obediently next to him.

The dog heard Piper laughing at one of the show's jokes and ran towards the living room. When it saw the girl it jumped on her and started to lick her face.

Luke ran into the living room filled with worries, but Piper's giggles instantly dissolved them.

"Charlie!" Piper shrieked.

"I was going to drop her stuff off by the diner, but you weren't there," David informed them.

"Remember David; you said you didn't know what time you could drop off her stuff and we said we might be at home," Lorelai told him.

"You have a dog?" Luke asked Piper.

"Yeah. He's a purebreed german shepard and is very protective of me. A large, protective dog is ideal for a girl when travelling around foreign countries."

"I agree," Luke said when he realized having a dog for Piper made sense.

"The rest of her stuff is in my truck, can we please go unload it at your diner."

"Yes, of coarse," Lorelai told David.

"Can I walk there with Charlie? Pleeeeeeeeeeease!" Lorelai and Luke nodded. They took Lorelai's jeep and David followed them in his truck.

Luke was driving and turned to Lorelai. "Are you okay with the whole dog thing?"

"Well, Piper moved all her life from one unfamiliar location to the next. The only steady things in her life seem to be her madre and Charlie. Her madre is gone and I really don't have the heart to take Charlie away from her. I've always wanted a pet, I've just never been able to take care of one. Now I have a pet and a kid who will take care of him for me."

By the time Lorelai was done they had arrived at the diner and Lorelai looked at Luke expectantly. He shrugged and said, "I like dogs and I love big dogs."

They both got out of the car and walked over to David's truck. "This is both the items from the room she was currently staying in and their storage room's."

"Storage room?" Luke asked.

"Yes, Piper and her mother kept their items from each country in a storage room located in the center of England."

"It's mainly clothes," Piper said as she and Charlie approached. "Madre and I needed to blend into the countries we were in. Clothes, shoes, make-up; you know, the essentials."

Lorelai was in awe. Shoes, clothes, and make-up from all around the world. She read the labels on the boxes from all over.

The men carried the boxes up to the apartment and the women tested them to find the lightest boxes to carry so that by the time they had found the lightest boxes the men were done and David was leaving.

"That was fun," Lorelai told Piper.

Piper couldn't help but giggle and Luke threw in, "Yeah, for you two."

"Okay, I'm tired and I need to make my bed and find my pajamas."

"We would have done it for you but we have no idea what country your pajamas and bedding are from," Luke told her.

"Don't worry, I'll do it. Night mom. Night dad." She each gave them a kiss on the cheek and went upstairs with Charlie close behind.

"Night," Lorelai and Luke said. And they went back home to take advantage of their empty house before they would soon have to be more cautious.

**A/N: Cute! Charlie's a dog! Heh.**


	6. Coffee, Boys, and Tattoos

**Shannigansx, beautifulbutterfly, JavaJunkiE006, hanselel, and starshollow108**: Thanks! I kinda love your reviews.

**hollyfan4eva: **I do to!

**Regina Halliwell: **I don't want to give anything away, but just wait. It will definitely be addressed soon.

**J.Stone: **One extra long, extra fluffy chapter. Tell me how I did, please!

**Bloomin Daisy: **Good idea, I'll try to work it in.

**Kylie1403: **Don't worry, she doesn't. Except her existence, of coarse.

**Miss-Lionesse: **Yes, of coarse. Patience. She'll be back soon.

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**A/N: More descriptive chapter. What? Too much?**

Patty and Babette entered the diner the next morning during the breakfast rush, which was twice as big as usual because not only was it a Saturday, but soon another one of the town's crazy festivals would start.

The two town gossips sat at the counter and were eyeing Luke suspiciously. "Might as well get this over with," Luke muttered before approaching them. He knew it had to be something, there was always something. He pulled out his ordering pad, "And what will you two have?"

"Morning goregeous." Babette started, "We'd like to know who that sweet girl was you and Lorelai were moving into the upstairs apartment. Andrew saw you guys yesterday and the whole town is curious and wants to know who the mystery girl is."

As if on cue Piper entered the diner with Charlie on her heel, following her as close as he could get. Luke saw her and seriously thought he might be having an attack of some sort. There she was, standing in the middle of his diner wearing her pajamas.

She had on a pair of dark blue, silk shorts with little yellow stars and moons all over them, a yellow tank top, and she wore the shorts with the waist band rolled up a few times. He noticed she had a simple black chain anklet on and black painted toe nails and finger nails. And to top the outfit her hair was pulled back into a messy tie. Her face was flushed and eyes were dazed from sleep, she looked like she had literally just woke up.

Piper walked straight to the counter. She was seemingly oblivious of the stares coming from the morning customers that were directed at her in a very obvious manner. She sat down on a stool, Charlie lay at her feet, and she turned to Luke. "Dad, I need some coffee."

Luke saw a group teenaged boys staring at Piper from their table. They had finished their meals a while ago and now were all staring at Piper and making comments to eacother in hushed voices.

Luke had also noticed that even in her layed back attire she still looked great. Her legs weren't skinny, but they were muscular and not at all flubby. Luke made a mental note to ask her if she played any sports. Piper had lost her baby fat and had an hour glass shape that curved in at her waist. She didn't have overwhelming, discusting muscles like those female body builders, but she did have slightly muscular arms, stomach, and body overall.

He had never made a point of noticing what Piper looked like, but now that he had and he saw the boys reacton to her, Luke immediately went into defense mode. He stormed over to the table, "It's a busy day and people need tables. If you're done eating I suggest you leave before I get so sick of you staring at my daughter I throw each and every one of you out of here with force!"

The boys were slowly sinking farther in their chairs and all were getting paler and shaking. Luke stared at them expectantly but all were too scared to move. Piper walked over, stood next to her dad, and said, "Go."

The boys didn't need her to tell them twice, so they bolted. Luke went behind the counter and started to pour Piper coffee while she took her seat. Patty and Babette were sitting next to her and both looked shocked at the scene they had just witnessed. "Dad, please just give me the cup." Luke was holding the cup of coffee he had poured just out of Piper's reach.

"Your mom wants you to come to the inn after you have breakfast … and get dressed."

"Her mom. It's Lorelai, sugar?" Babette asked.

Piper decided to field the question for her dad. "No, my biological mother's name is Rachel. But since she died, I'm going to live with my dad, Luke, who my mother never told about me. She was afraid that if Luke knew about me he would want me. And since she wanted to travel around the world and take me with her, any court would see dad as a more stable parent. I call Lorelai mom because she's practically already my step mom."

"Rachel? The girl who broke your heart?" Patty asked Luke.

Luke nodded and Piper said, "That sounds like her. Dad, the cup. Pleeeeeeeease!"

Luke was rethinking actually giving the drink to her. "You know that coffee is bad and will ultimately lead to your death. Drinking it is bad for you and your health. And I can't believe you brought your dog into my diner!"

"Dad, we're temporarily living in the upstairs of this place," she said in a tone that can only be described as 'duh'.

"I know. But the dog is not allowed in the diner."

"What do you want me to do with Charlie every time he wants to go outside? Toss him out the window?"

"Charlie? Is that the name of this adorable creature?" Patty asked.

"Yes, it is. Hi, my name is Piper, by the way."

"I'm Patty, sweetheart and this is Babette."

"Hello, gorgeous. You look simply adorable!" Babette said while feeling the silk of Piper's shorts.

"Thanks." Piper giggled and blushed slightly. She slid the cup of coffee towards her that Luke had forgotten as he went to take the orders of two new customers. He returned, gave the order to Caesar, and frowned at Piper as she drained the last of the coffee in her cup and gave him a big smile.

"You know Maury and I were always cat people," Babette told her and Piper turned in her seat to more easily listen to Babette and Patty talk about their pets over the years. Luke smiled, but then he noticed a yellow star and moon outlined in dark blue on the left of the back of Piper's neck.

"What is that?" Luke half yelled at Piper. She quickly realized what he was talking about.

"It's a tatoo, dad. Madre let me get it."

"I can't believe that you have a tattoo! Piper …" At this point Luke was definitely yelling.

"Look, we knew that she was dying and since our whole lives have been spontaneous we went out and did whatever madre felt like doing. We got matching tattoos and everytime I see it or someone comments on it I think of her. And I'm not going to let anyone make me feel bad about it for even a second!" And with that she stormed up the stairs already practically in tears with Charlie following.

Luke yelled to Caesar to take charge, quickly followed Piper, and found her sitting with her knees tucked up to her chest on a messy bed made up with a gummy bear themed bed spread. Luke walked over to her, sat down next to her, and held her while she cried. He made a mental note to be more sensitive towards his daughter.

**A/N: Awww. Touching moment. Gummy Bears on the Bedspread! I love the reviews, keep 'em coming. **


	7. Kim's Antiques, Greg, and Food

**Katieanna and beautifulbutterfly:** Thanks, really. Your reviews mean a lot. 

**JavaJunkiE006: **Thank You. Oh, and don't worry; I will.

**J.Stone: **Your input is extremely honest and thoughtful. Thanks a lot. And yes the L/P relationship is drama free, but there might be another mother/daughter relationship (wink, wink) that may be entering the story (wink, wink) that could get quite dramatic (wink, wink, ow my eye) 

**Bloomin Daisy: **I thought it was a good idea.

**LorLukealways: **Keep reading. Plenty of L/P moments. And an appearance from Rory soon, promise.

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**A/N: New Chapter (incase it wasn't clear).**

Piper had slowly stopped crying with the help of Luke's comforting words, but Luke still held her in a tight embrace. They had both confessed they had overreacted slightly, apologized, and were both just enjoying the comfortable silence, but Piper soon broke it.

"I'm hungry," she stated so abruptly that Luke couldn't help but laugh.

"How about you get dressed and ready to go to the inn and I'll cook you whatever you want."

"Chocolate chip pancakes with extra chocolate chips and whipped cream. Ooh, and coffee." Piper gave Luke a wide smile and batted her eyelashes at him.

"Chocolate chip pancakes and a glass of milk, got it." They smiled at eachother and Luke went downstairs. Piper dressed in a black tank top and a black bra that's straps were visible. Her black skirt started around her lower waist and a strip of skin was exposed in between her tank and skirt. The skirt fell to the middle of her thighs and she wore black flip flops and her black chain ankelet. The long space between her skirt and flip flops made her legs seem even longer; they were already quite long.

She walked into the diner and ate the pancakes and drank the milk that were on the counter for her. After taking Charlie for a walk, getting the directions to the inn, and giving Luke a quick kiss on the cheek she left on foot. She arrived at the inn and immediately saw Lorelai at the reception desk.

"Mom! Luke only let me have two cups of coffee this morning," Piper frowned and Lorelai gave her a quick peck on the cheek. She draped her arm over Piper's shoulder's and started to steer her towards the kitchen doors.

"Luke gave you two cups of coffee?" Loelai asked obviously stunned.

"Well, no. I snuck the first cup when he was getting orders from two customers."

"That's my girl."

"And the second I got because I drank all of my milk and he made me cry," Piper told her in a very matter-of-fact way.

"Yeah, Luke called me about that. You okay?"

"Yeah. I am." Piper looked up at Lorelai and gave her a reassuring smile.

"So … let me see the tattoo." Piper turned around and took the hair that was tied up in her hand and moved it to the side. Even up in a tie it still fell to the middle of her back. Lorelai gasped. "I want one."

"Then get one. You're old enough, no one can tell you that you can't."

"I can tell me. I hate needles, are you insane? I mean, you have an awesome tattoo, I love it, but no way I would ever let a man with an electric needle near me."

"Actually, we were in China when we got these done. They're authentic. A man with a needle, ink, and a hammer thingy bangs the needle into your skin." Lorelai was shocked, horrified, and in awe, so the face she made had Piper laughing. But when they entered the kitchen Sookie spotted them and almost took out two kitchen hands, a pot of scalding hollandaise sauce, and a three layer wedding cake while practically running over to them.

"Hey! Oh, you're here. How are you?"

"Well truthfully I'm going through caffeine withdraw and would probably offer my first born to anyone who would give me some coffee," Piper told her. Sookie looked at Lorelai and they both smiled at how much she sounded like Lorelai.

"Wow. Well how about I get you a cup and we can just forget about the whole first born dilemma." Sookie turned to get a cup and fill it with some freshly made coffee.

"Thank You," Piper managed before she was sipping the liquid from her cup slowly to savor it.

"So, where are you two going today," Sookie asked while chopping up parsley.

Piper turned to Lorelai, "Yeah, where are we going?"

"Just to some shops around town to see if we can find any nice furniture for your room. We'll be back in a bit, Sook."

"Okay, bye guys. Have fun. Try to control yourselves." They left so she looked back at the food she was preparing, "They won't be back."

Five hours later Piper and Lorelai walked into the diner. Piper sat on a bar stool and Lorelai went behind the counter, retrieved two cups, and started filling them with coffee. She gave one to Piper and sipped the other while sitting down next to her. Luke came out of the back and frowned at them.

"So, how did the shopping go?"

"Great," Lorelai answered. "We got a full bedroom furniture set from Kim's Antiques at a really great price. Mrs. Kim was so excited to make such a big sale she threw in free next day delivery."

"Next day? Lorelai, we decided we should paint the room first and then move all the furniture in."

"Yes, I know. We got the paint and supplies in the jeep just waiting for a big, strong man to unload them."

"Yeah, mom and I went to Kim's Antiques first and we found a dark wood furniture set. So we had time to pick out cream-colored paint and a maroon carpet for the floor. It's all in the jeep," Piper told him.

"So wait," Luke asked, "who loaded the the paint and carpet onto the jeep? Did you actually do it youself?"

"No," Lorelai said. "Dave at the paint store and Greg at the carpet store gave us a hand. Piper had to flirt with them since my engagement ring was a big turn off."

"Not to Greg."

"Oh, stop."

"I swear, mom. He saw that ring and immediately started to hit on you."

"Wait," Luke interrupted. "A guy named Greg from the carpet store was knowingly hitting on my fiance?"

"Well, alright I admit, Greg did seem interested in me. But it got the carpet in the jeep, didn't it?"

Luke gave Lorelai a look that clearly scolded her and then turned to his daughter. "So it took you two this long to get your room supplies?"

"No," she answered. "We finished our shopping in such great time and hardly bought anything extra …"

"Hardly anything?"

"Well, we did get some paint to match the rug so that we could paint a stencil around the top border of the walls," Piper confessed. "But we felt we did a great job so we decided to reward ourselves. I suggested a movie, mom suggested lunch; so we did both. We saw the new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. We had to buy candy to get into the spirit of the movie, of coarse. And then we went to an all you can eat China Buffet and between the two of us we definitely got our money's worth."

"I believe that."

"And then we came here."

"To tell me to unload the jeep?"

"No, for food."

"What?" Luke looked at his daughter amazed.

"Yeah, Luke, pleeeeease! We're hungry. It was a twenty minute drive." And with that Lorelai put on her famous pout and Piper followed cue. Luke sighed and took down each of their orders.

**A/N: Reviews, por favor. (I know, my Spanish is impressive)**


	8. Rory's Return

**oth2007: **Don't you dare apologize. You reading my story makes me extremely happy, so thanks!

**Kylie1403, No.13dreamer, and starshollow108: **Here she is. Just for you (oh right, and everyone else who reads this story).

**Shannigansx: **Thanks! Here's some more for you.

**hollyfan4eva: **I glad you got that. I figured Lorelai needed someone to hang with without Rory there.

**Beautifulbutterfly: **Maybe. No, but yeah I did try to make them seem alike.

**J.Stone:** Thanks so much. Your like the only one who actually tells me what you like and I kinda love you for it.

**JavaJunkiE006: **Ask and you shall receive.

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**A/N: And now the moment you have all been waiting for.**

Piper had finished painting the walls cream and Luke had stopped over during his lunch break to put in the carpet. Lorelai had even left the inn the help Piper paint the maroon border. Piper took Charlie for a walk and had played fetch with him in the front yard until Lorelai had arrived to help direct the delivery men when they arrived.

"Hey babe."

"Mom! I'm so bored!"

Lorelai put on her best thinking face and then ran inside smiling excitedly. Piper stayed on the porch and Lorelai emerged wearing a pink tank top and a pair of powder blue shorts with the words angel babe on the butt. She was holding a box behind her back and she soon revealed twister. "Nice!" Piper shrieked and she stood up excitedly.

"Okay, now Piper. Do you have any other clothes in the house? Anything stretchy?"

"Yeah. I brought over my pajama shorts incase I got to sleep here tonight."

"Okay, go put 'em on and I'll set out the game!" Both girls were giddy with excitement and Piper practically sprinted to retrieve her shorts.

The delivery men came and had to wait until the end of the game they were currently playing to start moving the furniture since the girls were blocking the door; although none of the men complained. They soon finished placing all of Piper's furniture in the right locations in her room and left thanking Lorelai for the lemonade during their break.

Then Piper practically dragged Lorelai to Doose's. "I can't believe you're making me do this."

"I'm not making you do anything," Piper answered. "Dad insisted he would put all of my boxes of stuff in his truck and unload them all into my room. The least we could do is have a nice dinner waiting for him when he gets home. We already told Dad we'd have food."

"It's not like we would have actually helped with the moving of boxes if we were there. And when I said I wanted Chinese food I didn't think you were going to make it."

"Listen," Piper argued while grabbing ingredients from the shelves and placing them in her basket, "you haven't had Chinese food until you've had the homemade stuff. Believe me, it's going to be great. We have the menu right here." Piper held up the Chinese take-out menu. "I will cook everything you were going to order and more." Lorelai still looked doubtful so Piper kept going. "And I promise if you try it, tomorrow I'll have a movie _day_ with you."

"A movie day?" All of sudden Lorelai got very excited.

"Yes, a movie day in celebration of my moving in." Piper kept getting her supplies for their dinner while distracting Lorelai with plans of their movie day. "We'll wake up at ten to rent the movies, whatever you want, and pick up supplies - junk food from Doose's and breakfast from Dad's. We'll bring it all home and start the first movie at eleven. We'll order pizza for lunch, take-out Chinese for dinner, and we won't stop watching until eleven at night so we get a whole twelve hours of movie watching. In fact, since this town is so small and safe we can leave the door unlocked and invite all of the deliverymen in so we don't have to stop."

"Well, I do know all the deliverymen by name, so that wouldn't be a problem." Lorelai turned Piper so they were facing eachother and said in her baby voice, "And were _really _gonna have a whole movie day? _Really_? You _promise_?"

"Yes, if you try my Chinese food I promise we will have a movie day. Sweat pants and all, but right now we have to find my cooking box from China and go home."

"Okay." And Lorelai didn't complain about dinner again … well, until after they had found her box in the apartment, put it in her room, and were in the kitchen. "What do you mean?"

"Mom, I just want you to peel the carrot. Carrot slivers go into the rice. Just use the peeler in your hand like I showed you." Lorelai was at the kitchen table facing Piper by the stove (she was cooking the rice and adding certain ingredients at certain times) with a peeler in her hand, a bowl in front of her for the slivers to go into, and a pile of carrots to her right. "Mom, I'll be right back. I think I left my big spoon thing in my room."

"My big spoon thing says the master chef."

Piper went into her room and Lorelai tried the peeling thing when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. She looked up and there was Rory standing in the doorway. They just stared at eachother for a while before Rory interrupted the silence.

"You're cooking," Rory said in disbelief.

"Mom! Ha! I found my big spoon thing," Piper's voice came loudly from her room. She came out holding her spoon with a big smile on her face. "Even in that mess of a room!"

**A/N: Dun, dun, dun. (in the words of J.Stone) What's gonna happen? Blow up, run out ... I don't know yet. Tell me what you think.**


	9. Best Man and Chinese Food

**J.Stone: **Nice suggestion, but I thought I'd use something slightly different! And, don't worry, not too much drama (no more then I could help, anyway).

**hollyfan4eva, Beautifulbutterfly, Kylie1403, bunk64, Miss-Lionesse, ProFfeSseR, Faith5x5, Gilmoregrl519, starshollow108, JavaJunkiE006, and No.13dreamer: **You are all extremely curious, but I guess by updating I'm only fueling it, so carry on.

**GilmoreGirlNumber27: **Thanks! You've made me feel quirky. I really just put those notes there to amuse myself, but the fact that they make you happy just makes them have an actual purpose. Cool. And yeah, I also wanted more L/L interaction, but the new daughter theme doesn't make for a good setting. I promise they'll be more after the whole Rory drama is taken care of (partially anyway).

**Bloomin Daisy: **Lorelai and Rory are gonna work out and figure out their relationship first. Then we'll see how her and Rory get along.

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**A/N: Sorry, but Lorelai does not attack Rory with the peeler. **

Piper looked from her mom to Rory. Neither had said anything in five minutes. Both looked from her, to eachother, to their hands or the floor. Neither had moved.

"Okay. Mom?" Piper addressed her mom thinking she should let them talk. "I'm gonna go to Dad's to help him load my boxes onto his truck. I'll be back soon. The food needs to cook for another fifteen minutes exactly how it is. Just make sure nothing catches on fire." Piper gave Lorelai a peck on the cheek.

"It was nice to meet you." Piper said to Rory a bit unsure.

"Yeah," came Rory's response. Figuring that was the best she was going to get Piper nodded and left.

"Get out of here Rory," Lorelai said as unemotionally, but calmly as she could.

"Mom, you replaced me."

"Piper is Luke's daughter and since we're getting married she's my daughter, too." Rory saw that the walls in her old bedroom were a different color since Piper had left the light on and she walked into it. She saw the new furniture and carpeting as well and turned to Lorelai.

"Where's my furniture?"

"It's in the garage. You can take it if that's why you came here."

"No, it's not. I hate this!" Rory finally broke out of the emotionless mask she had been using to protect her and Lorelai soon did the same. "I don't understand how it got this way!"

"Okay, well I do. You dropped out of Yale. You have done so much your whole life, have made so many sacrifices, to get into a good school. And I've helped you as much as I could, making sacrifices of my own. All because you said that it was what you wanted. And everything we've done was worth it when you were going to Yale. But now, it all means nothing."

"Of coarse it means something."

"No, Rory, it doesn't. We might as well have not done any of it. And all because one guy told you he didn't think you 'had it.' Well so what, Rory? My encouragement has always been enough, but now it's nothing to you. And to top it all off you ran away from me, completely shut me out, and ran to your _grandparents_. That world I have been trying so hard to save you from. All the pettiness."

"Mom, I know I screwed up, but …"

"No, Rory. It hurts. It hurts a lot and I just can't talk to you right now. If you want that life, then I'll try to accept it. Whatever you decide I'll learn to deal with it. But I haven't acccepted this yet and I can't deal with it, and you. I'm sorry, but I just can't, it just hurts."

Rory looked at her mom and tears were welling up in her eyes. She had hurt her so much, it couldn't be more clear that Lorelai was in complete and total pain. "Mom, I'm gonna try to figure out what I want. I'm gonna try as hard as I can, I promise."

And with that Rory left. Just turned around and walked out of Lorelai's life once again. And that's when the tears came, for both of them; Rory while she was driving and Lorelai when she was sitting at her kitchen table peeling the carrots.

That's when Luke and Piper entered the house. It was clear that Luke had told Piper about Rory because she was looking around unsure of what to do and at the same time willing to do anything Lorelai wanted her to.

Luke simply walked over to Lorelai who was teary eyed and put one arm under her knees and the other on her back. He lifted her up into a cradling position and Piper added, "Dinner won't be done for a _while_. Chinese women love to cook." Piper watched as her father carried the woman he loved to their bedroom and went outside to get her sterio.

Luke entered their bedroom and sat down on the bed with Lorelai in his arms. He held her tight and after a few minutes she looked up at him. "She looked good." And with that she gave Luke a kiss hard on the mouth that was so full of passion that it had them both gasping for air when they pulled apart.

Luke understood, Lorelai needed him. She needed to know that another person who meant so much to her wasn't going to go away. He wanted to show her, but then his ability to think came back and he looked back up at Lorelai, "Piper."

But no sooner had he said this then they both heard music. It was coming from downstairs and was so loud that both Luke and Lorelai could hear Aretha Franklin's voice pouring out of the speakers.

Lorelai looked back at Luke, "She's got good taste." They smiled and Luke kissed her as hard as he could. He wanted to show her that he would always be there. And he did.

Piper continued cooking the Chinese food with her stereo blasting throughout the kitchen; she had figured her dad and mom might want some time to themselves. She worked tediously to make sure that each type of food was prepared perfectly. And in the end it was all worth it.

She had set the table with three beautifuly decorated plates, cloth napkins, chop sticks, and forks (she didn't know if either of her new parents had ever used chopsticks). There were small bowls, decorated with the same pattern as the plates, set in the middle of the table and each was filled with a different sauce she had made. She had food lining every inch of counter space of the kitchen.

When her parents finally came down stairs they all enjoyed the amazing meal she had prepared for them.

"Piper, we wanted to talk to you about something," Luke told his daughter.

"Okay."

"Now, you obviously know that Lorelai and I are getting married. But you may not know that our wedding is going to be this December."

"December? That's soon. It's the beginning of August."

"Yeah," Lorelai continued, "but I have an obsession with snow. And since Luke wants to get married in the church where his parents were wed, and I saw the place and its beautiful, the weather outside won't affect the ceremony. So we wanted to talk to you about the bridesmaid arrangement."

"You know, I don't have to be a bridesmaid. It's okay if you just want the people who you've known for longer."

"Well, actually you aren't going to be a bridesmaid. See, my best friend Sookie is a bridesmaid and her husband Jackson is a groomsman. Luke's sister Liz is a bridesmaid and her husband T.J. is a groomsman. And Rory is a bridesmaid. So already the numbers are uneven."

"But we do want you to be in the ceremony," Luke stepped in seeing Piper try to mask her look of disappointment and hurt. "At Lorelai's parents vow renewal Rory was the best man and so we asked and you can be my best man. So, I guess I'm asking you, Piper, to be my best man."

"Yes!" Piper jumped out of her seat and grabbed her dad in a tight hug. "Yes, yes of coarse!" The rest of the night went smoothly and Lorelai and Piper went to bed in anticipation of their movie day.

**A/N: Best men, should always be women.**


	10. PreSeason and Construction

**Bloomin Daisy: **Don't worry, you'll find out how the R/L relationship is going to work very soon.

**ProFfeSseR: **It will resolve into something. Soon. And that's really awesome, the differences between the weddings. Thanks for telling me, it endlessly amuses me.

**Kylie1403: **I'll address the Twickham house in this chapter.

**J.Stone: **Thanks. Hope there wasn't too much drama for you.

**Shannigansx:** I thought that might amuse some people.

**GilmoreGirlNumber27: **It's sad that you missed that episode, it was a great one. Rory got to dress up in a girly suit. It was great!

**JavaJunkiE006: **Will do.

**lukeandlorealilove: **That's what I was going for.

**wine/cheese: **Read this chapter and all will be clarified.

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**A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Pre-season. I hurt all over.**

"Mom, wake up!" It was already 10:15 and they had agreed to start getting movie day set up at ten. "Mom!" Piper was sitting on top of her mother and bouncing up and down. But Lorelai was sleeping through all of Piper's screaming and attempts.

Piper crawled onto her dad's side of the bed, which was empty since her dad was at work, and pushed Lorelai off the bed. She hit the ground with a loud thud and she turned over. She squinted up at Piper who was looking at her over the edge of the bed.

"Piper? What are you doing?" Lorelai looked at the clock. "It's ten fifteen. Why didn't you wake me up? It takes at least twenty minutes for me to pick out my outfit and get dressed."

"I tried to wake you up earlier but you wouldn't get up. But your outfit is on the edge of the bed and I'm already dressed. Were leaving in five minutes."

Lorelai noticed Piper was wearing a pair of fuzzy, black sweat pants and a lime green tank top. She had on a pair of black flip flops that showed off her black toe nails. She had on a black chain bracelet that brought your attention to her black finger nails. Her jet black hair was pulled back in a tie that fell to her lower back. She had a small amount of eye makeup on and she wore some lip gloss.

Piper left and Lorelai turned to the pair of olive green sweatpants, hot pink tank top, and matching hot pink flip flops Piper had layed out for her. She quickly dressed, put on some lip gloss, put on her silver chain bracelet, and went downstairs.

Piper was waiting for her and they quickly walked to the video store where they realized they had each seen almost every movie that the Stars Hollow movie rental had to offer.

"What are we gonna do?" Lorelai was staring at the movies on the shelf in front of her half-heartedly.

"Ooh, I know!" Piper was wild with excitement and started jumping up and down. "Madre bought me the full ten seasons of Friends, but I never got to watch them because we moved shortly after and they were put into storage."

"Oh my gosh! We can start with season one and skip the episodes we've both seen! This'll be great. Okay, we have to go to Doose's, get junk food, go to Luke's, get food, and get home."

Both girls were practically running and when they entered the diner Luke made them calm down before he would give them coffee. They sat sipping their coffees and Luke watched them from behind the counter. Piper put down her cup, "Mom, dad. I got some information from Chilton in the mail. And field hockey pre-season starts in two days."

"Wait, you wanna play hockey?" Luke looked excited at the prospect.

"Yeah, I play field hockey and softball. I've never been on a school team, but I have been in leagues."

"You play sports?" Lorelai looked at Piper stunned.

"Yes," Piper replied a bit unsure; Lorelai was staring at her. Piper turned to Luke. "I was wondering if I could play. I mean, there's a bus that will take me to Chilton. It leaves at 7:15 and arrives there at 7:45. Practice starts at 8:00 a.m. and then ends at 4:00 p.m. And then another bus arrives at Chilton at 4:15 and will be home at about 4:45."

"Of coarse you can play." Luke told her, obviously excited.

"And you've got your transportation all worked out. I'll ask Sookie, but she comes into work rediculously early for all those who eat breakfast early. She'd probably love to make you gormet lunches every day. You can pick them up in the morning before you catch your bus."

And so it was decided. Luke slipped in a few comments about the girls' four Doose's bags brimming with junk food and how they would ultimately lead to their death. But once the caffeine kicked in both girls were beyond Luke's reasoning. When they got home Piper quickly found her DVD's and both girls were setting out the junk food on the coffee table.

"Piper, your dad wanted me to talk to you about some construction on the house. We both agreed that this house means too much to me, having raised Rory here and this house having been my home for so long, that we couldn't part with it. But we also agreed that if we wanted to expand our family we'd have to expand the house first."

Piper realized what her mom was saying and she let out a loud shriek before jumping up and hugging Lorelai tightly. "I'm gonna get little brothers and sisters!" Piper screamed excitedly.

"Wow, I was really hoping you would react like this." Piper pulled back from Lorelai and stood there bouncing up and down excitedly. "The only problem is that you start pre-season in two days, school in two weeks, and Tom can start working in three days."

"I'm going to assume Tom's the construction guy. Do we have to move out?"

"No, actually. He's gonna work around that."

"Well, then no problem. But speaking of brothers and sisters, … can I ask you about Rory?"

"So, your dad told you about her."

"Only her name and that she was your daughter. That makes her my sister … well, step, but a sister is a sister."

"Well, she's smart like you, but hates anything physical. We haven't been speaking for a while. We had a huge fight."

"Is she gonna be your maid of honor, or a bridesmaid, or something."

"I really hope so. I hope we can fix this. I really want her to be there for my wedding. I had to call to tell her about it. She promised to be there, but we didn't talk much." Lorelai looked sad and Piper decided that she had pressed enough.

They had finished laying out the junk food and Piper took Lorelai's hand and sat her on the couch. She grabbed the four bags of food from Luke's and put them in the middle of the couch. Then Piper put in the first DVD of season one and sat down on the side of the couch opposite Lorelai so that the food was in between them. Both girls sat eating food and watching the TV.

**A/N: She plays hockey. Hm. **


	11. Icing, Running, and Buffets

**ProFfeSseR and JavaJunkiE006: **Thanks. Step-sister; got it, fixed it.

**Bloomin Daisy: **Flockey, heh. I'm not sure. I figured I'd put Piper in as center mid, because they do the most running and I want her to be extremely athletic and in-shape. I usually play as a back or sweeper (I **_love_** defense) and have played mid occasionally. It's really difficult.

**oth2007: **My obsession is Gilmore Girls, but I do love Friends. It's always good to be obsessed about something (hopefully not someone. hm).

**Fraiser: **Thank you so much. Really, I love the adoration. It inspires me … and actually makes me kinda giddy … hm. And thank you so much for putting me on your favorite stories list. I read the other story on there and it's amazing. Good pick.

**GilmoreGirlNumber27: **Thanks a lot. I was actually worried that my descriptions were too much. I'm really glad they're not, writing them makes me happy.

**Manic Penguin:** Seriously, you have the best pen name I've heard of. I'm kinda in love with it. Short (or aphoristic, as I have learned in an extremely bizarre incident involving an eight year old, a duck, and two scrambled eggs) and extremely sweet review, thanks. 

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**A/N: Chapter eleven. Seriously, sorry guys. Some hospital testing stuff. I'll be writing more now that I'm back. Promise.**

"Piper!"

"I'm here, I'm here. Geez, mom. You'd think I'd gone missing."

"Okay, well, it's seven and if you wanna get to your bus on time I suggest you take the coffee and go." Lorelai held out a travel mug. Piper gladly took it from her mom, gave her a peck on the cheek, and left in a hurry.

"Sookie!" Piper rushed into the Dragonfly Inn's kitchen. She was wearing a white tank, a black sports bra, a pair of black, cotton work-out shorts with a white, elastic waist band around the top, and a pair of running sneakers. She carried her stick bag, a blue nylon bag that held her shin guards and cleats, and a water bottle.

"Sookie! It's my first day of pre-season. I _can't _be late."

"Okay, okay, kitten. Here's your lunch. Home-made …" But Sookie was cut off by the tight hug Piper gave her. Piper kissed Sookie quickly on the cheek and left in a hurry to catch her bus.

Lorelai came into the Dragonfly's kitchen a while later only to have a spoon shoved into her mouth. She almost choked in shock. But then Lorelai realized that whatever the spoon held was what she would of guessed heaven tasted like.

"Oh, wow."

"Is it really good?" Sookie looked at her friend questioningly.

"It really is. This is amazing."

"Amazing!" All of a sudden Sookie was giggling and jumping up and down. And soon Lorelai was doing the same.

"What was that?" Lorelai finally asked; face flushed and out of breath.

"This," Sookie told her while pointing to her bowl, "is the icing that's going on your wedding cake. I already asked Luke to taste it this morning and he loved it!"

"This is the icing that's going on my wedding cake?"

"Yes!" And that's when the screaming, the giggling, and the jumping resumed. When they were finished Sookie showed Lorelai her plans for the meal, her idea for the cake, and the figurine of Lorelai and Luke that she had found that she swore had Luke's butt.

"Oh wow. It is his butt. Weird."

"I told you."

"Oh no. What time is it?"

"Lorelai, you should really wear a watch. You need to be on time for meetings and …"

"Sook?"

"Oh, right." Sookie looked at her watch and replied, "It's eleven."

"I have to go. I want to bring Piper lunch on her first day."

"Okay. Bye sweets."

Lorelai decided since food from Luke's would be cold by the time she got to Hartford she'd take Piper out. She arrived at Chilton and walked down to the fields. Lorelai knew she was early since the girls were doing sprints. She picked Piper out easily from her long, dark hair and was immediately impressed with her speed.

After they were done they all huddled around the coach and then dispersed. Piper saw Lorelai immediately and went straight towards her.

"Hey! I've got icing!" Lorelai shouted and all the other girls either looked confused or amused by her outburst.

"Awesome! What flavor?"

"I really don't know. It was kinda vanilla/butterscotchy. A true Sookie creation."

"That's great mom. It sounds really good, but then again my near-starved state may be affecting my ability to judge anything food related."

"I think I made myself hungry." Lorelai pouted while holding her stomach with both hands. "We better get something to eat." They started walking towards Lorelai's jeep side-by-side.

"I agree. I think I'm getting hunger pains."

"Are you sure those aren't cramps."

"Okay, then I think I'm getting hunger _cramps_."

"No, you should be a professional runner!"

"Cool! Oh yeah, except I _hate _running."

"What? But you were … you just … with the sprinting … and the …"

"I run so I can play the sport. It helps my endurance."

"But _why_ would you run unless you love it. I mean, come on. The only people who run love it. Not just like, Piper, love with an insane passion. Sprinters and cross country runners _love_ to run. I mean, it's there life. That's why they do every day."

"Mom."

"And people running along the street in bright colored jogging suits, they love to run. They've taken time out of their lives to put on their jogging suit of choice and go running. Not to mention the hours they have taken to find their preferred jogging suit in a jogging suit store. And all to …"

"Okay, okay. Please. Food. Stomach. Hurts. Ow." Piper clutched her stomach with both hands and pretended to keel over.

"Fine, we're here."

"Hey, what are we gonna do with the lunch Sookie gave to me? It looks really good."

"Is that a serious question?"

"Right, okay. Snack for the drive on the way back to the school then."

"Perfect." Both girls walked into the all you can eat Chinese Buffet Lorelai had found.

**A/N: Tada. Finally. I know. Long wait. Choppy sentences. Makes me wanna cry too.**


	12. Pancakes, Cabins, and Yelling

**Manic Penguin: **I'm really glad the update made your day better. Don't worry, the tension will be gone _soon _(wink, wink). I know the crazy Piper-Lorelai bond makes no actual sense. But what can I say. The accepted and logical bore me.

**ProFfeSseR: **Thanks a lot. I'm happy it made you happy. We're all just happy.

**No.13dreamer: **I promise I will. (insert apology from previous chapter).

**Lorelai Gilmore46: **I'm glad I could write this story for you then. I don't like her either. Grr. Die. And then go back to Yale.

**waitingtuesday: **Half-way through your review I was like 'Great. I haven't updated in so long that when I finally do it's either extremely funny or just plain confusing. People are shocked and surprised and need to know why this has happened.' And then I read the rest and really liked your story. Thanks. A nice lift after the day I've had.

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**A/N: Great news. I'm fine. And Miss Kennedy Anne is doing great. Sorry again for the wait before Chapter 11, but I had some family stuff.**

Lorelai entered the diner at six o'clock. She had stopped home to change and had walked over to Luke's.

She loved walking at sunset, because the humid, August heat that occupied the hours when the sun was out had already slowly melted away. The air turned into the perfect temperature to give your body the perfect amount of warmth that doesn't make you sweat, but keeps you warm in pants and a tank top.

"Wow. That was some deep thinking. And I'm talking to myself. Interesting." But the second she entered the diner she no longer felt like the crazy one. What she saw made her wish she had brought a camera. Lorelai silently cursed the fact that she was never prepared for anything.

But there it was. Her husband-to-be and daughter-to-be arguing in the doorway to the kitchen. Piper had an apron on, a ladle in her hand, and had food all over her self. Lorelai wouldn't have questioned Piper's appearance since she was cooking, but surprisingly Luke was covered in bits of food and splotches of sauce and batter.

Luke was holding a tray of food telling Piper in a very matter-of-fact way that this was not what the customer had ordered. Lorelai decided she would just sit at the counter and listen to them fight.

"But, Luke. This is better. My specialty: blueberry, banana, strawberry, double chocolate chip pancakes with chocolate syrup, fruit topping, and whipped cream. Served with chocolate milk."

"The customer ordered a short stack of pancakes, this is a triple stack, with orange juice and fresh fruit on the side."

"There's fruit. Fruit topping. And fruit … _insides_? And come on, who orders the short stack when the regular costs sixty cents more. And did you really want me to serve orange juice with these pancakes. That would just be disgusting."

"Piper. I'm not going to have another kitchen brawl with you."

"Alright, alright. I'll make him his order. But I can't throw out these pancakes."

"I'll have them." Both Luke and Piper turned to Lorelai realizing for the first time that she was watching them. "The air smells like trees."

"What?" both Piper and Luke asked her at the same time.

"I guess you had to be there."

Piper set the food in front of Lorelai. "Okay, guys I have to go remake this guy's order." Piper put on her best pout and dragged her feet while walking slowly into the kitchen.

"What's with the appearance, 'cause last night when I suggested you put 'Luke covered in your choice of toppings' on the menu, I wasn't serious."

"Ah, geez. Me and Piper just had a little fight in the kitchen."

"A food fight?"

"No. She threw things … so I retaliated by throwing things. But it was not a … _food _fight. Just regular father-daughter arguing. Nothing like a food fight."

"You had a food fight," Lorelai practically sang.

"With a fifteen year old. It's just … girly."

"You're participating in activities your daughter likes. That's not so girly."

"Well, we're thinking about planning a camping trip. You wanna come?"

"No fair. I don't want you guys to go without me. But what will I do."

"Well, I'm thinking we could go up to my log cabin."

"You're log cabin."

"Yes. My dad left it to me and you could spend a weekend ordering take-out, watching TV and movies, and relaxing."

"Really!"

"While we're fishing you can pamper yourself all day."

"Dirty."

"Lorelai," Luke warned her in his most threatening voice.

Lorelai pushed her empty plate towards Luke and said, "Okay, okay. I'm going to go home." She gave Luke a quick kiss and walked home loving every minute of her time outside.

And then she saw it. Rory's car … parked in her driveway. And there was Rory, sitting on her porch. She walked to the door, unlocked it, and left the door open for Rory to come in if she wanted to.

Shortly after Lorelai sat down in the kitchen Rory entered.

"I yelled at him."

"Rory … what?"

"I yelled at him. Mr. Huntzberger. When he told me I couldn't make it he said I never participated in our weekly meetings. I was sitting in the pool house reading a book Grandpa gave me and I realized our Friday meetings were going to start in half an hour. So I jumped in my car and drove to the station and interrupted their meeting."

"You interrupted their meeting?"

"Yes. And I told Sam to get a life and Harry to get some guts."

"Sam and Harry."

"Yeah. And then I told Mr. Huntzberger that he might know a lot, but he doesn't know me. And that I couldn't wait to show him the determination and ability I have when I graduate from Yale and make something of myself."

"You did?"

"It's still my dream. It's always been my dream. I don't know how I could forget that."

"It's not good enough, Rory."

**A/N: I know. Mean place to stop. Review and I'll update soon (oh, bribery).**


	13. Rory, Camping, and Mimes

**Katko:** I'm actually surprised at how well bribery worked … and kinda scared. The power I possess with a simple bribe. I'm thinking world domination.

**No.13dreamer, Kylie1403, and Bloomin' Daisy: **Major cliffhanger … I just love torturing you guys. Not really. You know, I felt the need to explain that I actually don't enjoy torturing people or small animals. Who does really? Okay, psychos. And the French .. in the olden days. They've grown out of that … hopefully.

**Taer: **Your problem with chapter 3 can easily be remedied by continuing to read. Don't give up on the story yet. There's chapter 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 … and now 13.

**Waitingtuesday: **Thank you soooooooooo much. Seriously, it's (I just fixed it's, there's an apostrophe because it's like 'it is.' Don't worry, I have a theory that English teachers are all in a cult that implants chips into our heads while we sleep.) so, anyway **it's** great to know that at least someone likes this story.

**J.Stone: **I read your review and for the last five minutes I've been searching my house for a snickers bar. I actually went to the store. Cravings suck. So, now that I have my snickers (takes bite) I'm glad to inform you that the camping trip will be coming up soon.

**Gilmoregrl1519: **I'm so sad about that. Sad, sad, sad. I've been depressed all week. And I love birthday's. This ruins it. The writers should get a stern talking to. They might as well have run around telling all the small children that the tooth fairy is scared of dentists, Santa Clause called 1-800-JENNY and is now slim and fit, and that leprechauns don't exist. Poor leprechauns.

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**A/N: Thanks. Evil cliffhanger. I know, I love being evil. Come on … at least as evil as the Brain … Pinky?**

"Mom…"

"No, Rory. It's not good enough. You can't just decide that you actually do like your old life better …"

"I didn't …"

"Rory. There had to be something. Sure, I still choose to blame Mr. Huntzberger. But it has to be something bigger than that."

"Why? Why can't we just agree that Mr. Huntzberger is why I …"

"No."

"No?" Rory stared at her mom, but Lorelai's eyes were set on the floor. "Mom, you can't just say no and assume that it's the answer. No cannot be an answer here."

"No. It's not just him. I know you Rory. Or I thought I knew you. The Rory I know would need a better explanation for letting her entire dream, her whole life fall to pieces. There just has to be more. There has to be Rory."

Both girls were silent. "What if I can't do it?" Tears slowly started running down her face.

"What?"

"What if I can't do it, mom? It's so much and I just don't know if I can. Chilton was hard, but this. I'm just so stressed, but more than anything I'm afraid. What if things don't work out? Let's just say I survive this whole Yale thing. What if even with my education I'm not good enough?"

"How can you think that?"

"I don't know. I just do. And every time life throws me a hurtle I end up questioning if I can really get over this one. I just don't know when the hurtles are gonna stop coming."

"They're never gonna stop," Lorelai said so matter-of-fact and bluntly that Rory was stunned.

"What?"

"Rory, they're never gonna stop. Life is one hurtle after another. Some are bigger than others. You're going to easily get over some, but others you're going to trip over and you might even fall down. But you get back up Rory; you have to. Some turn out to be amazing life experiences and others turn out to be just a pain."

"But what if I _can't_ get over one, mom. What if I just can't."

"If you really can't get over one, that's why you've got friends and family; to help you. If they can't help, I never said you couldn't find a way around a hurtle. You have to keep trying. You can't give up on your life."

"We're home!" Luke yelled and in a few seconds he was entering the kitchen with Piper holding two Luke's take-out bags.

"See, dad. I told you we'd need more food," Piper told Luke, oblivious to the moment she was interrupting.

"What, you're psychic now. You knew Rory would be over here."

"No, I'm not _psychic_, I'm _right_," Piper explained to Luke like he was in kindergarten.

"Fine. You're right … due to a lucky guess."

"Thank you, now are we gonna make more food or what?"

"No, it's okay," Rory turned her attention to Luke and Piper realizing that her and her mom's conversation was over. "I actually have to go."

Luke turned to Piper, "Ha. I was right."

"Come camping," Lorelai blurted out.

"What?" Rory stared at her mom, confused.

"Come camping," Luke jumped in. "We're all gonna go. Piper and I are gonna fish, hike, explore. You and Lorelai can keep each other company. And you could talk."

"When?"

"We were all going to leave tomorrow morning at eight," Piper told her when both of her parents stayed silent.

"I don't have any classes tomorrow or the rest of the weekend."

"So, we'll see you then?" Piper asked, again noticing her parents were mute.

"Yeah."

No one said anything for what seemed to everyone like a very long time. "Are you sure you don't wanna stay for dinner?" Piper asked, seeing that her parents were intent on staying awkwardly silent.

"No, it's okay. I've gotta pack." Another awkward pause. "So … I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow," Piper replied again, accepting the fact that her parents had simply decided that becoming mimes seemed fun. Once Rory left, Piper turned to her parents, "You two are strange." And with that she went into the living room to pick out a movie.

**A/N: Lions and tigers and bears … oh my. Oh, camping.**


	14. Munchkins, Movies, and Swimming

**waitingtuesday: **Unique names … look at mine. I loved my English teachers, but this year I've got a really unusual one. So far we've researched _ourselves. _We've shared about ourselves, made collages, and explored the meaning of our favorite shapes (I'm a triangle and a leader). No writing or reading yet, so I'm kind of upset. I figure if our English teachers are in a cult, my current teacher isn't allowed in yet. Last year my teacher and I spent at least fourteen classes (I'm seriously not exaggerating) debating moral relativism while the rest of the class watched. Amazing. I'm glad Piper's character seems good and that you're excited about this chapter.

**Lorelai Gilmore46, Kylie1403, and No.13dreamer: **Thanks a lot. Camping … oh, camping. Rory and Lorelai. Such awkwardness. I'm far too amused by it.

**J.Stone: **(eating cookie dough … oh, school fund raisers) Reviews make everyone hungry. Hmm. Thank you sooooo much. I was hoping that Rory and Lorelai's conversation came off right. I'm really glad it did. Nice ideas for the lake. I might have borrowed some (wink, wink). Well, go on … read!

**Gilmore93: **I'll try to fit Max in there if it flows with the story. And mimes. It was mentioned once. Piper thought her parents decided being mimes seemed like fun. I just like the word … and the people. They're pretty darn awesome.

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**A/N: (drum roll) and now … CAMPING!**

Rory arrived fifteen minutes early and Luke had her stuff in his truck on time for them to leave at exactly eight o'clock. Both Luke and Lorelai were awkward around Rory, who wasn't doing a great job of acting casual either.

There discomfort was easily masked by focusing on Piper. The conversation the whole two hour drive down to Luke's cabin was between Luke and Piper, Piper and Lorelai, or between Piper and Rory, who found they each loved reading and had each read many of the same novels.

When they arrived Luke started to unpack the bags while Piper ran in the house to find her room, quickly unpack, and start exploring. Lorelai and Rory just stood there gawking at actual nature.

Lorelai was the first to talk, "We're not in Kansas anymore."

"Somewhere over the rainbow?"

"Yup."

"Ah!" Rory shrieked and pointed to an area of the woods.

"What?" Lorelai got behind Rory in an attempt to use her as a shield.

"I think I just saw a munchkin."

"Small, circular donut or small, circular person?"

"Person."

"Seriously?"

"No. You really thought I just saw a munchkin?"

"Aw, mean." Lorelai stepped out from behind Rory.

"And you were going to use me as protection … from a _munchkin_."

"Well, of coarse."

"But shouldn't your motherly instincts work the other way around?"

"Well, you see I always used to think of you first. But then we took that plane to Europe and the flight attendant explained that I should put on my own air mask first so that I'm in good condition and can help you."

"So you've decided to apply the air mask philosophy to every possibly dangerous incident?"

"Umm … yes."

"Well, what if …"

"Okay, maybe not every situation, but … I wanna talk."

"What?"

"I wanna talk. We're stranded here for an entire weekend."

"Well, maybe stranded is the wrong word to use. Luke said you brought our whole movie collection."

"He was exaggerating … and he didn't even look in the bag of 'feminine products' that contains more than thirty DVDs."

"How many feminine products does Luke think you need?"

"Yeah, I was kinda wondering too. But I really wanna spend the time when Luke and Piper aren't there talking or watching movies or … just trying to get things back to normal. Well, it doesn't even have to be normal. It might be somewhere completely different. Just … somewhere good."

"I agree. Somewhere good."

Piper came running out of the house holding a DVD. "Rory! I found it!"

Lorelai saw what she was holding and tried to take the movie, but Rory got their first and held it behind her back.

"Oh no. No, no, no. You two are not watching Power of the Myth."

"But mom," Piper interjected, "it's _Bill Moyers_."

"Lorelai," Luke came out of the cabin, took Lorelai's hand, and started leading her in the opposite direction.

"Luke. Fine, they can watch the movie, but please, please, please don't make me go into the woods." Luke responded by simply taking Lorelai by the waist and carrying her over his shoulder.

"Let them bond a little." Lorelai started to talk, but Luke quickly interrupted her. "Without you in the back round criticizing their movie."

"_The Power of Myth_, Luke. _The Power of Myth_."

"It might be ridiculous. But they're gonna be sisters soon." It only took a few minutes for Luke to arrive at the lake and set Lorelai down.

"Luke, it's gorgeous." The lake was completely surrounded by trees and woods. It looked like a scene out of a calendar.

"And warm."

"What?"

"Well, it's had all summer to warm up. I was thinking we could all come down here one day and go for a swim and … Lorelai, what are you doing?" Lorelai's shoes and shirt were already on the floor and she was quickly removing her pants.

"Well, Luke. Since you ask, I'm going swimming." She removed the last of her clothing and started to slowly back up into the lake waters. "You see, the lake has had all summer to warm up and …"

"Lorelai, do you really want to …"

"Yes." Luke didn't have to be told twice. He removed his clothing and joined Lorelai as quickly as he could.

They returned to Luke's cabin much later and found that Rory and Piper had restarted The Power of the Myth in Piper's room. So they simply took a nice, _long_ shower.

**A/N: Just for you J.Stone … I'm not gonna lie, for me too.**


	15. Oompa Loompas, Munchkins, and Midgets

**OTHlover04: **Thanks. Glad you like it.

**No.13dreamer: **I just had to do it … I mean, come on. The Power of Myth. I'm glad you like the camping. I figure a little family outing is just what they all need.

**Gilmore 93: **Oh, munchkins. Seriously, I love them way too much. I've had dreams about having multiple munchkin children. I'm _really_ glad that you liked the chapter. It makes me happy.

**waitingtuesday: **It's so funny that you had a walk today for diabetes, because a few days ago I had a walk for breast cancer. I'm extremely sorry about your cousin, but now Kennedy Anne and I pray for your cousin at church.

And my English teachers are crazy. There was Mrs. Kaminski who was pregnant during our class and extremely hormonal. She would yell when we made noise during writing periods. One day Jeff started coughing and she got so mad she mad him go outside until he could 'control himself'. It was pretty great. Ms. Faherty was just crazy. She was a hippie. Enough said. Mr. Pedersen (more affectionately known as Pede) was just crazy. He got so into our lessons. They were extremely interactive and really hard.

My math teachers were really the best though. Mrs. Losch wore her dress backwards one day (with the zipper in the front and everything) and told us that it was 'dark in her room in the morning'. Sad thing was we were her eighth period class and no one else had said anything. There was Mr. Campatelli who would be standing their and be doing calf raises while he talked. He would be lecturing us and go up on his toes, and back down, and back up over and over again. He came in the first day, stood up in the front of the room, puts both of his arms out to the sides, and said, 'I am a _seesaw_. My head is the fulcrum. (picks up two pieces of chalk, one in each hand, and puts his arms back out) The chalk balances. (picks up an eraser in one hand and puts arms back out) But _what_ does the _eraser weigh_?' He was pretty crazy.

My friends Katie and Angela have pretty regular names. Sharon and Kelsey aren't common, but aren't that weird either. Regardless I love them all. And please, please, please keep up the obnoxiously long reviews because then I can write back obnoxiously long comments. Seriously, I _loved_ your review.

**orangesherbert7: **I'm extremely glad you gave my story a chance. I writ down story ideas before I decide to go with one and truthfully the first time I thought of this one I basically decided it would be a really bad idea. But then once I gave it a try the story details turned out good. I'm glad you like it.

**ProFfeSseR:** I'm glad you like the camping and Lorelai and Rory talking. Thank you for reviewing. I update spastically. These last few chapters just came to me really fast and I had to write them. 

**A-Karana: **Lorelai and nature … I know. There is going to be more, because let's face it … there has to be. Sorry about the spastic updating. It throws some people off. It was really fast these last few chapters because they came to me easily. But their was a big gap before them because I had some family stuff that took a while. I'll try to be more regular.

**J.Stone: **(eats another crunchy Chinese noodle and piece of fortune cookie) Hey, ji-dan is egg in Chinese. Hmm, I know. Rory drives Piper and herself back home with Power of Myth, leaving Luke and Lorelai stranded. What _will_ they do? Just kidding … maybe. I love almond joys!

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**A/N: Your reviews are amazing. Xiang-jiao is banana in Chinese. Does anyone else get ten fortune cookies when they order Chinese food?**

Luke woke up the next morning to the wonderful smell of a type of food he couldn't quite place. But before he had time to wonder any longer he felt Lorelai jump up and down on top of him again and realized that she was what must have woken him up.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Luke asked while sitting up.

Lorelai climbed off of him and Luke saw that she was wearing a white tank top and the flannel pajama pants for women she had insisted on buying the one time she had gone shopping at a camping store with him.

"Well, I've been trying to get you up for ten minutes. Sure, I admit the first few minutes I tried to do it subtly. Fake coughing fits and accidentally moving around a lot while I was asleep. But then my stomach just got really mad and whiny and I had to jump on you to get you up."

"Your stomach started _whining_?"

"Yes. Now, I know I tired you out last night, but I'm hungry. So, you're going to have to use the small amount of energy you have left to come downstairs with me."

Luke just rolled his eyes, got out of bed, and put on a pair of sweatpants. On their way down stairs they could already hear Rory and Piper in the kitchen.

They entered the kitchen and the first thing they saw was Piper in her pajamas, hair up, and apron on holding a steaming pan with a towel over the handle. She was standing by the counter and Rory was sitting on the opposite side on a stool. Piper started picking up strips of bacon out of the pan with a pair of tongs and setting them on Rory's dish.

"Me next, me next!" Lorelai bounced over to the counter. "I love bacon, too." Lorelai gave Piper a pout and sat down on one of the counter stools.

Piper gave her mom a smile, went over to the stove, put down the pan she was holding, and got her mom a dish out of the cupboard overhead. "Mom, what do you want; pancakes, there's blueberry, strawberry, and regular, bacon, French toast, hash browns, or scrambled eggs."

"Everything!"

"Okay."

Luke rolled his eyes and came to sit down next to Lorelai. "And what am I going to eat? I don't doubt that those eggs are smothered in butter and salt."

"Well these eggs are, but the ones on that plate," Piper pointed to a plate of food across the counter from Lorelai, "have no butter or salt. _And_ there's blueberries and strawberries on the side and a bowl of plain oatmeal. Bon appetite."

Luke could only smile and accept the food his fiancée was handing him. He was shocked that his daughter had noticed his eating habits so early and had already starting catering to them.

"Mom," Rory started, "could you tell Piper that we're not going outdoors."

"What?"

"Well, Piper thinks that because we're out here we should do outdoor … stuff. I told her we wouldn't want to, but she's convinced that we are going to do it and have fun."

Piper jumped in, "Shouldn't we all do some stuff together."

"Yes," Lorelai told the girls, "but Piper, I'm not sure we should go outdoors to do bonding activities. We could watch movies."

"Lorelai," now it was Luke's turn to talk. "We came all the way out here. We could watch movies at home."

"Yeah, Luke and I wanna bond outdoors. We could fish ore hike or …" but Piper couldn't go farther before Rory was interrupting her.

"Listen," Luke interrupted before Rory and Piper started fighting "you're mom and I are gonna talk upstairs. You two behave and eat your breakfast's."

Luke and Lorelai walked out of the kitchen and Rory turned to Piper, "So, back to our earlier discussion?"

Piper filled a plate with food and sat across from Rory. "Okay."

"So, you're saying you wouldn't have believed me for even a second."

"No. Munchkins are short, colorfully dressed people who live in Munchkin Land and randomly break out into musical numbers. Oompa loompas are short, colorful people who live in Willy Wonka's chocolate factory and also randomly break out into musical numbers."

"Okay."

"You told mom you saw a munchkin. Munchkins only live in Munchkin Land and since I'm pretty positive that we're not currently in Munchkin Land I wouldn't have believed you. Same goes for oompa loompas. We're definitely not in Willy Wonka's chocolate factory.

"But if I had said midget?"

"Then I might have believed you."

"Hmm." Both girls continued to eat in comfortable silence.

Meanwhile Luke had lead Lorelai upstairs to their bedroom and she sat on the king sized bed she had made sure that they would have before she agreed to come out to Luke's cabin.

"Lorelai, we need to decide how to handle this."

"Okay, tell me what you think we need to handle."

"Well, for starters can't you and Rory do something nature oriented," Lorelai tried to interrupt, but Luke continued, "You two could just go swimming."

"We tried that yesterday." Lorelai raised her eye brows suggestively at Luke.

He blushed, but continued, "We could go at a different spot. You, Piper, Rory, and me could just go for a short swim. You two might even like it. Maybe we could go out for a picnic by the lake. You two can just eat, swim, and then leave."

"Okay. Rory and I can do some stuff outside. The swimming and picnic don't sound bad. But I'm not gonna force her or myself to do anything we really don't want to."

"Of coarse not. And you know I would never make you." Lorelai nodded her head in agreement. "But now we have to talk about what we're going to do about those two."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Piper likes a lot of the things I do; sports, cooking, and nature. And Rory is an almost exact replica of you. And I love them both for it. But down there it was me and Piper against you and Rory."

"I noticed that. We can't chose sides like that. We have to stay neutral and talk about things together without those two."

"Okay, so today what do you wanna do?"

"I wanna watch a movie, but before you say anything the forecast and the gray clouds outside say that it's going to rain."

"You talk to clouds?"

Lorelai simply frowned and continued, "Do you really wanna be outside in the rain?"

"No. Okay, but all four of us have to agree on the movie."

"Okay, but we all have to stay in our pajamas."

"What kind of rule is that?"

"A good one."

"Fine, but get ready for an hour of deciding on what movie to watch."

Luke and Lorelai returned downstairs, told the girls their plans, finished their breakfasts, and started playfully arguing over which movie they should watch.

**A/N: More camping and the great outdoors to come. Promise. **


	16. Pizza My Heart

**waitingtuesday: **Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you … oh, and thank you! I love your reviews so much and I'm really glad that you took all that time to find your review and re-submit it. It made my day ten thousand times better. Chelsea sounds adorable. We wish her the best.

Your teachers seem more and more hilarious. G (a history teacher named Mr. Giaretta, but no one ever calls him that), Mr. Capolla (an English teacher), and Kilmer (a sub named Mrs. Kilmer, but no one ever includes the Mrs. … I'm not sure why) all got caught up in a huge practical joke. Kilmer and Capolla share a room (The high school is the smallest in the state. 300 kids, grades 7-12. Simply amazing. My graduating class has 51 kids in it.) and Capolla started taking and hiding her stuff. G helped him … kinda like an accomplice. Kilmer found out and her and G took Capolla's keys and parked his car on the football field. Capolla was called down to the office and told about his car and he moved it. But Kilmer didn't know so G and Capolla told her that Capolla's car was towed. Kilmer felt so bad that she offered to pay, but Capolla wouldn't let her. She kept bringing him in baked goods, lunches, etc. Meanwhile Capolla and G were still hiding her stuff and Kilmer thought she was losing her mind. Capolla's wife eventually told Kilmer because she felt bad. Ever since Kilmer and Capolla's wife have been friends and Capolla is extremely nice to Kilmer since she has a lot against him now. It's amusing.

I love really normal boy's names like Christopher, Joseph, and Michael. Mrs. Rodriguez has a son named Rhys. I don't particularly like the name and I'm afraid he'll be made fun of. But I love strange girls names. Kennedy is a really good one.

Oh, and don't worry. My friend Sharon is really excited about Rent. I'd love to see it, too. Yeah! Another long comment. Oh, how I love writing them.

**ProFfeSseR: **I'm glad you took the effort to review. It makes me happy.

**Gilmore 93: **My friend Bill was Papa Smurf for Halloween. He had a beard and hat. His face was painted blue and he had on the red shorts. It made my day.

**OTHlover04, Luke'sGirl, and Lorelai Gilmore46: **Thanks.

**J.Stone: **I'm glad you think Piper's fitting in well. I was nervous she wouldn't. Sorry about those four pounds (eats another spoonful of 'party mix' ice cream … which by the way is amazing).

**orangesherbert7: **Thanks for the long review. They make me happy. (See waitingtuesday's comment for a truly hilarious teacher story).

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**A/N: Thank you. Thanks. Gracias. ****Efharisto. Danke. Merci. Sukran. Mh goi. Dekuji. Mahalo. Grazie. Dziekuje.**

"So when do you wanna tell the girls?" Luke asked Lorelai as they sat on their bed in pajamas; Luke in boxers and Lorelai in a blue, silk night gown.

"I don't know. I'm not sure how either is going to react, so I think we should do each one separately. You take Piper, I take Rory?"

"Sounds good. Later though, it's late."

"Three in the morning is not late, Luke."

"Fine, it's early."

"I'm bored." Lorelai pouted and Luke knew exactly what she meant.

"No." Lorelai was caught off guard by his abruptness, but quickly adjusted.

"Well, why not?"

"Because it's early and you need some sleep."

"But Luke …"

"No buts. You are going to sleep."

"Fine." Luke kissed his fiancée, but was careful not to let it go any farther. Lorelai let out a groan when he pulled back.

"Sleep."

"Yes, dad." Lorelai smiled and Luke couldn't resist smiling back.

They both got into bed and Luke pulled Lorelai's back against him. He wrapped an arm around her waist and started to gently stroke her stomach. Lorelai placed her hand over Luke's.

Luke whispered into her ear. "I'm gonna be a dad."

"You're gonna be an amazing dad."

"You _are_ an amazing mother."

"Mom?" Rory entered the living room the next day. Piper and Luke had gone out fishing for the day.

"Here. Lovely and beautiful and here!" Rory spotted her mother sitting on the comfy, red couch with her legs crossed. She was wrapped in a blanket and was bouncing up and down practically squealing.

"Mom, what's gotten into you?" Rory asked half-laughing while she sat down on the couch.

"I don't know," and then Lorelai started giggling.

"Oh no. Did you watch an ABC family home movie again?"

And Lorelai responded in her best Italian accent, "_Pizza My Heart_."

"Mom, I told you not to watch those anymore."

"No, I watched_ Pizza My Heart_ …"

"Do you have to use your Italian accent every time you say that?"

"Umm … yeah. I watched it last night. But I've got some big news. Some ginormously spectacularly amazingly wonderfully awesomely …"

"Mom?"

"Shh," Lorelai cleared her throat, "_Great_ news. I'm expecting …" Lorelai stopped.

After a few seconds Rory got impatient, "What? What?"

"To have to squeeze a baby out of me in a few months."

"Ew, mom. That has to be the most disgusting way you could of done that." And that's when Rory realized what her mother had just told her. "You're Pregnant!"

"I Know!" Lorelai was bouncing again. Until she saw Rory didn't look happy. She looked like she was spacing out. "Rory?"

Rory snapped out of it and stared at her mom. "I have to go … no. I'm not going."

"Okay."

"I wanna move back in."

"What?"

"Or just visit more. Mom."

"What is it?"

"I wanna be there. I'm gonna be a big sister."

"You are a big sister."

"I know, I know. But with Piper there was nothing I could of done to not miss the beginning of her life. But if we … if _I _keep letting the weirdness get in the way of doing stuff with you, then I'm gonna miss out on everything. I don't wanna be the older sister who this baby talks about as 'my sister, but she's a lot older and has a different father.'"

"But Rory, you are a lot older … and have a different father."

"I do have a different father, but mom … I have the same dad. Luke's the one who helped raise me. He's the voice I hear every time I eat something unhealthy. And when the baby comes you and Piper are gonna call him dad, so I think I should, too."

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

"I want to try to resolve the weirdness over the next … eight months?"

"About, yeah."

"So the baby doesn't pick up on it when it's born."

"When _baby's_ born."

"What?"

"We don't know the sex yet, so baby's not a he or she, but I hate _it_. It's so unfeeling. Like my baby's not a person. So, it's baby until we know the gender."

"Baby, got it."

Both Lorelai and Rory sat in comfortable silence just soaking in what had just happened, until Lorelai broke the silence.

"_Pizza My Heart._"

"What?"

"Pleeeeeeeeease Rory. Encore performance," Lorelai checked the clock, "now!"

"Look how conveniently that turned out," Rory said as sarcastically as she could. "You know, I blame this sudden ABC family movie fetish on hormones. The Lorelai I know wouldn't wanna watch _Pizza My Heart_."

But Lorelai rubbed her stomach and pouted. "Baby wants to watch _Pizza My Heart_."

"Every time. You know you didn'tgrow up in Italy ... or even speak the language."

Lorelai gasped and put her two hands against her stomach. "Baby doesn't know that. Don't shatter baby's hopes and dreams. Baby's not even out of the womb yet and big sister Rory is already …"

"Alright, alright." And Rory added in the best Italian accent she could come up with, "_Pizza My Heart_."

Lorelai just clapped her hands and squealed as Rory turned on the TV.

**A/N: Really long time since I updated. Sorry, sorry, grovel, grovel … more groveling. Would you believe I went camping? Weird.**


	17. A Perfect Family

**gilmoregurl55:** Sorry, I didn't see your review until after I posted the chapter. But thank you, I will watch out for that.

**OTHlover04 and Luke'sGirl:** Thanks.

**Lorelai Gilmore46:** Thank you, a lot. Here's a new chapter, you know, per your request.

**J.Stone: **Thank you so much and Happy Thanksgiving!

**orangesherbert7: **Further proof that all teachers are CRAZY. I loved that you told me what you liked. It gives me ideas as what to put in the next chapter.

**lollysamantha:** Don't worry, I'm fully aware of the stupidity. Just read this chapter.

**Bloomin Daisy:** Sorry, but I HAVE to disagree. I wanted to kill that movie. But I tried to be nice. I didn't even mention it by name.

**ProFfeSseR:** Thanks (or shall I say dankjewel) for teaching me even more ways to say thank you. The only ones I use are English (no, really? Well that's just fascinating.) and the Polish Dziekuje. You pronounce it dsyen-koo-yeh. I really loved that you told me what you liked. It helps a lot.

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**A/N: Happy Thanksgiving! Turkey, potatoes (mashed, of course), cranberry sauce … I won't go on. Too much food, too little time. FOOD!**

Luke and Piper arrived home shortly after sunset.

"Mom! Mom!" Piper ran into the living room where Lorelai and Rory were laying on the couch. She ran over to Lorelai and gave her a hug and proceeded to squeal. Luke entered the room, but was content just to watch his wife and daughter.

"So, Luke told you."

Piper responded by continuing to squeal and hug her mom until she abruptly pulled back. "What do you want? Anything, I can cook it. Heck, I'm willing to cook. Anything, really."

"Well, actually I just want an apple … ooh, and something sweet."

"Apples, apples. Okay. Apple pie, apple strudel, apple tarts …"

"Piper, it's really fine, though."

"Okay, apples. I can make caramel, yogurt dip …"

"Actually … well, the caramel sounds amazing."

"Done." Piper gave Lorelai one last hug. She ran into the kitchen to make the apples yelling, "I'm gonna be a big sister!"

"So how was your day?" Luke asked Rory and Lorelai, but Rory was the one to respond.

"ABC family."

"What?"

"Movies mom and I would usually have so much fun mocking. But no. I blame it on hormones. Mom was crying and defending the characters!"

"Hey, she really loved him. You could tell!"

"Luke," Rory practically whined. But look just looked at the two with awe.

Both Lorelai and Rory smiled at each other realizing that this was the first time they had indulged in their special, Lorelai-Rory banter.

"Okay, fine," Rory stood up and started to walk towards the kitchen.

"Rory, what …"

But Lorelai was interrupted by Rory's, "Well, I like apples … and caramel. Maybe I could learn."

Rory disappeared and Lorelai stared after her in disbelief. "Rory wants to … cook?"

"Or maybe she's just had enough of you," Luke said as he sat down next to Lorelai.

Lorelai playfully hit him on the shoulder, but Luke just pulled her practically onto his lap. Lorelai's legs were laying across Luke's onto the couch. She rested her head on Luke's chest and just listened to his breathing before she asked, "So everything went okay?"

"More then okay. We were out in the boat and when I told her. She almost tipped it by running over to me and practically tackling me with a hug. But then she made me put back all the fish we caught."

"What? Why?" Lorelai asked, giggling slightly.

"Because she said as a father-to-be I needed to learn to be more nurturing."

"Really?" At this point Lorelai started laughing into Luke's chest.

"Yes. She said that with her I didn't need to nurture her since she was older, but a baby needed gentle care."

At this point Rory walked back in. "The caramel will be done in ten minutes. Mom, can I please talk to Luke alone. You can watch her cook the caramel. It's cool."

"Of course, sweets." Rory smiled at the familiar nick name.

But Luke added in, "Watch, Lorelai. Just watch. Do not touch anything. You know Piper'll tell me."

"Fine, fine."

Lorelai left and Rory sat on the coffee table across where Luke was sitting. Luke sat up straighter.

"Luke I need to talk to you, but I need for you to wait until I'm done."

"Okay."

"I want to call you dad. Chris gave me money to pay for Yale and left. He has his perfect daughter Gigi, his perfect wife Michelle, and soon he'll have his perfect son. He lives in a mansion, is married to a stay at home wife, and has a nine to five job he makes millions at and loves.

We were never really close. He's forgot about me and truthfully, I don't really think about him. He wants that life, he loves that life, and so I'm happy for him. Ever since grandma and grandpa's vow renewal I've called him Chris. I wanna call you dad now so that around my little brother or sister it comes natural. If you let me."

"Are you done?" Luke asked tentatively after she ended.

"Yes."

"Then yes. Of course you can call me dad."

Rory smiled at Luke and he returned the gestured unflinchingly. She had noticed Luke was getting more comfortable with expressing his affection. Rory figured it had something to do with being a dad and fiancé.

Lorelai and Piper entered the living room with enough apples and caramel to satisfy everyone.

Rory was the first to talk, "So, the wedding's still in December?"

"Yes, it is," was Lorelai response. "I'm only two weeks pregnant. It's the beginning of September. I'll only be three and a half months pregnant. I didn't show with you until month five. The doctor said something about pelvis bones or something. The way my body is positioned I don't show early."

"Okay, so I'm the maid of honor and Piper's … what?"

Luke answered, "Piper is going to be my best man."

"You can do that?"

"It's Stars hollow."

"Right, right. Listen. I have some news. I'll be going back to Yale."

"What?" Lorelai asked her.

"Mom, I'm still not sure what I want to do. Right now I'm thinking English professor. I'm going back to figure out what I want to do with my life. But whatever it is I know I want a degree to go along with it."

"That's great honey."

"Yeah, Rory," Luke added. "I think that's a really good idea. A really good choice."

"Thanks dad."

"Mom? Dad?" Piper looked to her parents. "School starts Wednesday. We'll leave Sunday .. I mean, tomorrow since we need to be home by Monday for pre-season. I met a girl named Jenna at hockey. We both don't have many friends … or any friends, so we would always be sprinting partners. We go about the same speed and push each other."

"Wait," Lorelai interrupted. "Jenna is the girl I saw with you that day I took you to lunch."

"Yeah."

"She was cute. She had long, curly dark brown hair. Is it naturally curly?"

"No, she curled it for practice," Piper said sarcastically while rolling her eyes.

"It's really curly. Like bob curls. All the way down her hair."

"Anyway, I was wondering if she could sleep over one day. We would take the bus to pre-season together in the morning. We both got our schedules and are in all the same classes. We even have a study hall together since we play hockey and don't need to take gym class.

She said the kids are mean, so she didn't have friends before. The rest of the girls on my team, I wouldn't wanna be friends with. But we stand each other because we're teammates. I really wanna have her over to show her I really wanna be her friend."

"Of course you can have your friend … Jenna over," Lorelai told her.

"And, dad?" Piper added.

"Yes."

"We were wondering if you would catch with us. Mom said you used to play softball as a pitcher. Jenna's a pitcher and I have my catcher gear in my room. We were gonna play and would love for you to help."

"Of course I'll catch with you two." Luke nearly beamed with love and pride.

Lorelai sat on the couch with Rory on the floor to her right, between Luke and Lorelai, using the couch as a back rest. They were both eating the apples with twice their size in caramel.

Luke ate the plain apples. He turned his attention to Piper, "You got them to eat fruit. I am eternally grateful."

Piper just smiled at him from her spot on the floor on the other side of the coffee table.

They sat there eating. All thinking about how lucky they were to have found such a perfect family.

Until Lorelai broke the silence. "This _is_ fruit!"

**THE END (more affectionately known as THE ED)**

**A/N: This is making me really sad. I've never ended a story before. Sad.**


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